Some owners are in a quandary. Their teams are terrible. They're showing no sign of life. Usually, the owners would be considering a change - promoting an assistant through the end of the season before hiring the replacement.

But this season is different. If owners of the worst teams in the NFL want a shot at Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, they better not fire their head coach during the season.

Think about it. One victory could be the difference in missing out on a quarterback who's the best prospect since Peyton Manning in 1998. Even Manning had competition, though. A lot of NFL scouts rated Ryan Leaf as a better prospect than Manning.

In April, there will be Luck and everybody else. He's more of a can't-miss prospect than any quarterback since John Elway came out of Stanford in 1983 and was taken first by Baltimore and then traded to Denver.

Firing may fire up team

Imagine if you're Dolphins owner Steven Ross. Your team is an embarrassment. You can't win at home. Your stadium is usually half full. You bought the franchise because you wanted the glitz and glimmer of the Don Shula era.

After the 2010 season, you humiliated yourself and showed up your head coach by flying across the country and trying to hire Jim Harbaugh - thinking no one would find out - but when they did, you gave Sparano an extension.

You want to make a splash by hiring a big-name coach like Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden. You know there's no better way to pump up fans than to hire a big-name coach and draft a quarterback in the first round.

You've got an itchy trigger finger. You want to fire Sparano, but you know if you do, an interim coach might pump up the team enough to win one or two games. Not good if you're trying to get Luck.

Imagine you're Colts owner Jim Irsay. You think Manning can return in 2012 and play a few more years. You saw what happened at Green Bay when the Packers had Brett Favre and drafted Aaron Rodgers anyway.

You know what a great quarterback can mean to a franchise for more than a decade. You know if you end up with the worst record you'll take Luck and let him learn behind Manning.

No matter how bad your Colts are, you can't fire Caldwell during the season and risk winning too many games to get Luck.

Rams may land big deal

Say you're Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Last year, you guaranteed QB Sam Bradford, the first pick in the draft, $50 million. No way you can justify taking Luck. But if you have the top pick, you might be the first team to get three first-round draft choices for a player. Of course you're going to let Spagnuolo finish the season.

Here's something the Rams might consider if they get the first pick. In 1986, the Oilers had Warren Moon entering his third year at quarterback. The best quarterback in the draft was Purdue's Jim Everett. The Oilers drafted him with the third pick in the first round and waited for the offers to roll in.

The Oilers reneged on a deal with Green Bay for first- and second-round draft choices as well as cornerback Tim Lewis and sent Everett to the Rams for two first-round picks, a fifth-round selection and two starters - guard Kent Hill and defensive end William Fuller.

That trade helped turn the Oilers into a Super Bowl contender. In 1987, they went to the playoffs for the first of seven consecutive years. They couldn't have done it without the Everett trade.

It's going to be interesting to see how hard the worst teams work to stay bad without it being so obvious that commissioner Roger Goodell has to intervene.